The Medieval Changeling: Health, Childcare, and the Family Unit

The first comprehensive study of medieval changelings and associated attitudes to the health and care of children in the period.

The changeling — a monstrous creature swapped for a human child by malevolent powers — is an enduring image in the popular imagination; dubbing a child a changeling is traditionally understood as a way to justify the often—violent rejection of a disabled or ailing infant. Belief in the reality of changelings is famously attested in Stephen of Bourbon's disapproving...